Month: June 2010

Letter Re: The 50 States are Getting Desperate for Revenue!

Hello Mr. Rawles, I thought you might be interested in an article about New York state’s 12th consecutive weekly package of emergency spending bills “to keep the government operating.” This bill will raise the price of cigarettes to over $11 a pack in New York, as well as taxing the cigarettes sold by American Indian stores to people outside the tribe. The last time New York tried the latter was in the late 1990s, and it met with violent protests. They haven’t tried it since, so you know that they’re getting desperate! – E.


Economics and Investing:

Charley suggested this piece by Ambrose-Evans Pritchard: Gold reclaims its currency status as the global system unravels Brian B. flagged this: Cash Crops: Buying Farmland for Income Also from Brian: Brown Brothers Warns on Deterioration in State and Local Government Deficits, Cautions of Comparable European Collapse Items from The Economatrix: Leaders Differ on How to Nurture a Global Economy BP Shares Down Sharply in London Government Lowers Growth Estimate for First Quarter Financial Stocks Lift Market After Financial Overhaul Euro “Collapse” Could Drag Europe Into Conflict


Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent me a link to a collection of photos showing Chinese military’s obsession with parades and ultra-precise formations. It reminded me of a quote from Jean Larteguy (The author of The Centurions and The Praetorians.): “I’d like France to have two armies: one for display, with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, fanfares, staffs, distinguished and doddering generals, and dear little regimental officers who would be deeply concerned over their general’s bowel movements or their colonel’s piles: an army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country. The …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of …


A Survival Suburban Homestead: A Prepper’s Twist on the Homestead Movement – Pt. 1, by D.M.T.

Swimming in a Sea of Humanity A homestead will not survive isolated in a sea of desperate humanity.  Nor will man survive in a desert void of it.  For many of us surviving in place (the suburbs) is going to be a fact.  With it carries tremendous risk and dangers yet imbedded within it, also a cornucopia of resources and individuals with critical skill sets and life saving knowledge.  Unlike urban areas, there is a small enough degree of separation between people, enough so to actually define and scratch out a living independently.  Current Homesteaders have proven it is possible …


Letter Re: Learning From an OPSEC Failure

Letter Re: Learning from an OPSEC Failure Hello Mr. Rawles, The shopper who had a badoperational security (OPSEC) experience at the grocery store is not alone. Here in Canada I had the same thing happen to me in a slightly different way. It was a tax free weekend at a major store and I stocked up on everything subject to both provincial (state) and federal sales tax. Big (12%) savings on every item that wasn’t food. I provision a family of seven, I wait for these weekends. For the first time I noticed I was stared at by other shoppers …


Letter Re: Some Experiences With Propane and White Gas Campstoves

James, I am a Scout Master in a local Boy Scout troop. After years of camping with Scouts it has become apparent to me that most propane camp stoves have a very short life span, even the name brand units. They work great for the occasionally camp out but they start leaking around the connections and they are not field serviceable. Many years ago, I was given an old Coleman white gas stove. I cleaned it up and have used it extensively over the last 30 years. Other than replacing the few parts, which are field serviceable, the stove is …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. mentioned a Rear Clear Markets video clip that echoes something that I’ve been stressing for several years: Legendary investor Jim Rogers says that silver is an attractive commodity while gold remains at an all-time high. Courtesy of Brian B. comes this link: The US is Pushing Its Debt Towards a $57 Trillion Hole Yishai sent us this (by way of Glenn at Instapundit): Don’t Fear Inflation, if It Comes. (Oh, really? I guess he’s never visited Zimbabwe…) Brian H. flagegd this: China’s Desert Ghost City Shows Property `Madness’ Persists U.S. May Follow Britain’s Lead and Pass Bank Tax. Oh, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Jamie D. mentioned that the government’s own documents show that the FSA program’s food warehouses are effectively empty. Jamie notes: “Government still hasn’t begun to replenish actual reserves of food. This is mandated, funded, and empty. If the gulf disaster results in toxic rains that impact crops, the government will have no reserves of wheat, corn, soy, et cetera.”    o o o Chavez pushes Venezuela into food war. (Thanks to Matt D. for the link.)    o o o G.G. flagged this: Knoxville City Council approves backyard chickens    o o o Keith B. spotted this: Brazil to …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"It has always seemed strange to me… the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second." – John Steinbeck


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 29 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of …


How to Create a Risk Mitigation Plan for Hard Times, by J.A.

We are a family of five living in Houston, Texas. Within the past several years, we have faced several dangerous situations where we were caught blindsided. Among those where several hurricane evacuations, and most recently, we experienced a forced evacuation from our home, after a chemical plant leaked and exploded nearby. Prior to these incidents, we had no thoughts of survival skills, prepping or preparing for disaster. While these experiences were very unpleasant, we are actually thankful for them because they served as a huge wake up call for our family to prepare. One of the most important things we …


Letter Re: Learning From an OPSEC Failure

Dear Mr. Rawles, I read your site daily and am very appreciative of your work and that it is from a Christian perspective. Thank you so much. I wanted to relay a personal operational security (OPSEC) failure that happened last week that your readers may learn from. My Husband is gone on an extended business trip and before hand I had convinced him to allow me to “prep” for his being gone. We have several young children and I didn’t want to have to go shopping regularly. While my Husband is not a prepper, he is slowly listening to me …


Three Letters Re: Surviving With Pets

Mr. Rawles, Alex’s post on dogs in a post-SHTF world was very informative but I think he dismissed cats far too easily. I’ve been both a dog and cat owner my entire life and though my dogs throughout my lifetime have been wonderful hunters, protectors, and companions none have been quite as useful as my cats in keeping the mouse, squirrel, and roach (especially important having a retreat property in the deep south) population down to a minimum. Not to mention cats have a far lower daily consumption of food and water and take up less room in a bug …